GPA Question

[rjc311]

Ok I really need some advice. I'm not yet enrolled at Excelsior so I don't have access to an advisor. Maybe you all can help!

When I was younger I attended a university and didn't really know what the heck I was doing. I didn't understand the whole drop or withdraw thing. There were a few classes that I just stopped showing up for. So, I ended up with a few F's and therefore my GPA sucks. I had 25 credits from those days and my GPA was a lowly 2.34 . I have another 3 credit "Literature of the American Environment" class that I got an "A" on and I just finished 2 more classes and got B's in both so that will help give me a little boost. I know that here in FL if you repeat a class that you failed, and do better the second time, then they will only use the higher grade when computing your GPA.

Does anyone know what happens when you transfer your credits to Excelsior in this type of situation? Will they count both attempts for the same class towards your GPA? Also, if you failed a course and then CLEP'ed out of it and, say, got the equivalent of an "A" on the CLEP, does that count too?

I'm guessing I may have to ask Excelsior directly but I don't know if they will answer me if I am not enrolled.....

[anar579]

I didn't transfer any courses in when I enrolled in Excelsior, but I believe the way it works is...

You can transfer in credits from the school you attended. I believe that in order to transfer in a course, it must have a minimum grade attached to it, which I think is a "C". Otherwise it's discarded.

Excelsior has a policy of non-duplication. If you, for example, complete a class (either transferred or at Excelsior itself) in Macroeconomics and obtain a B; then take the Macroeconomics CLEP and obtain a C, you're duplicating credits and they won't accept both. As far as which you get to keep, the B or the C, I'm not sure, they don't go into detail about this. Excelsior's policy on this matter is:
[INDENT]If you complete more than one examination or course in the same subject, it will be considered duplication of credit and only one such examination or course will apply toward an Excelsior College degree.[/INDENT]

I'm trying to find documentation that backs up what I'm saying, but I can't just now. I just recall reading about this when I was considering starting this program. I hope someone with experience in this area can provide more details.

[rjc311]

Ana,

Thank you so much for posting that reply! When I transferred my credits from Florida International University to St. Petersburg College (both Florida state schools), SPC did "accept" the F's and calculated them into my GPA. I will have to contact Excelsior to see exactly where they stand on this. I mean, if they just discard the grades below a "C", then my GPA would go way up and that almost sounds too good to be true!:eek:

[anar579]

Ana,

Thank you so much for posting that reply! When I transferred my credits from Florida International University to St. Petersburg College (both Florida state schools), SPC did "accept" the F's and calculated them into my GPA. I will have to contact Excelsior to see exactly where they stand on this. I mean, if they just discard the grades below a "C", then my GPA would go way up and that almost sounds too good to be true!:eek:

Oh wow, that really sucks! You really should call Excelsior's admissions office to get more information on this.

Off topic, I was just at FIU all day today studying at their library!

[anar579]

Another thing you might want to consider is the cost of transfering credits. Does anyone know how much this is?

[siersema]

I can help! I was pretty much in the same situation as you. I didn't take some classes seriously and I didn't withdraw. I had a D and even a few F's on my early transcript. When I transfered to Excelsior they didn't 'transfer' any of the F's, and therefore they didn't factor into my current GPA at Excelsior. The one D I had (in English Comp 101) was brought over as a Humanities (it didn't count as the Written English Requirement since you have to have a minimum of a C for that). Once I passed a test for my WER they believed the content overlapped with my prevoiud English Comp credit and the D was removed, and no longer counts towards my GPA.

Ok I really need some advice. I'm not yet enrolled at Excelsior so I don't have access to an advisor. Maybe you all can help!

When I was younger I attended a university and didn't really know what the heck I was doing. I didn't understand the whole drop or withdraw thing. There were a few classes that I just stopped showing up for. So, I ended up with a few F's and therefore my GPA sucks. I had 25 credits from those days and my GPA was a lowly 2.34 . I have another 3 credit "Literature of the American Environment" class that I got an "A" on and I just finished 2 more classes and got B's in both so that will help give me a little boost. I know that here in FL if you repeat a class that you failed, and do better the second time, then they will only use the higher grade when computing your GPA.

Does anyone know what happens when you transfer your credits to Excelsior in this type of situation? Will they count both attempts for the same class towards your GPA? Also, if you failed a course and then CLEP'ed out of it and, say, got the equivalent of an "A" on the CLEP, does that count too?

I'm guessing I may have to ask Excelsior directly but I don't know if they will answer me if I am not enrolled.....

[rjc311]

Thanks so much siersema!!!!!!!! That is really great news for me! I got an F in Finite Math, Sociology, and Microcomputers and I got A's in Bio, Chem, English Comp 1&2, Spanish, etc...so this is really going to work towards my advantage. You made my day!

Ana...FIU had just started building the huge addition on their library when I left. The school as a whole has grown so much since the mid 90's. It is a really great university in a truly wonderful city. I LOVE Miami!!!!!!!!!!

[ShotoJuku]

[SIZE="2"]In a nut shell - when you APPLY to Excelsior you submit ALL of your transcripts to them and they in turn ONLY ACCEPT those that are a C or better (2.0 or above).

There is no transfer fee other then when you ENROLL you pay the flat fee that INCLUDES all of the 2.0 or higher credits being added on to what you call a status report which is in and of itself a rolling transcript summary.

So, your initial GPA will be the average of all of your accepted credits at 2.0 or better and can go up or down after that with every successive class or exam that you PASS after that. However not all exams receive letter grades but just a "P" for pass and they do not affect you GPA.[/SIZE]

[libartsmgr]

Siersema is correct, no failing scores will ever show up on your Excelsior transcript. I had 30 hours when I enrolled and my gpa was like 2.6. Since then, every exam passed has pulled it up little by little. Although, luckily, I didn't have any F's on my school transcript that transfered in, I have failed one Dantes and it never appeared on my transcript. I just had to take another test to get those hours. Now, with 30 hours to go, my gpa is somewhere areound 3.4. Using the testing method for finishing school has really helped.

[sirjake]

What if you retake a Dantes or CLEP where you weren't satisfied with your score? I.e., you enroll and have all of your credits sent, but that C in macroeconomics that you know you could have done well enough to get an A if you had studied for more than two days is just eating at you. If you retake it and score well enough for an A, do they count only the A or do they count both? Or is it (even worse) that only the lower score counts?

I hope it will never matter for me, but I'd like to know.